At Your Service
by pikachugirl2
Summary: Poo's only desire was to serve Ness, and he realizes that he could never live without Ness. Confronting Starmen, a desire for a lost treasure, and protecting the group alone while in Stonehenge Base, Poo starts to wonder if he's enough for Ness...Oneshot.


Looking around, the boy's eyes were filled with nothing but machinery. Machinery, and strange creatures that looked similar to the robot-like thing he'd seen at the beginning of his journey. Who knew so much lurked beneath Stonehenge? He turned to his friends.

"You think there's a sanctuary here?"

The blonde haired girl shook her head, her red ribbon bouncing in her hair as she did. "Ness, I think this is where Apple Kid might be. We have to hurry and save him!"

Proceeding onward, fighting creature after creature, Ness's curiosity about these things grew. He glanced at a boy wearing glasses, pointing to one of the creatures in the distance.

"Jeff, what are these thingies?"

The boy adjusted his glasses. "If I'm correct, those are Starmen. They have varying weaknesses, which I'm not entirely certain of. There are many types, but by far the best to watch out for are Super Starmen, the golden ones."

"Why's that?"

A boy who appeared to wear ninja-like clothing jumped up and down in front of Ness happily. "Those ones have the Sword Of Kings!"

Paula tilted her head. "Sword Of Kings? Never heard of it…"

Poo was ecstatic just talking about it. "Oh, the Sword Of Kings! The finest, most beautiful hand-crafted sword in all of Dalaam! A warrior can only dream of placing their hands delicately on the shimmering handle, of sliding the blade forged from the most precious metals through any object! How I long to even get a glimpse of it!"

Ness was confused. "But you're the Prince of Dalaam. Why didn't you just ask for it? Someone would've given it to you."

Poo clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "When these disasters started and Giygas started to invade, the Sword Of Kings was stolen from us by the Starmen. I was supposed to have it passed down to me on my 15th birthday. That came and went, and no gorgeous sword fell into my hands. Since the Super Starmen are the guards of treasures and such, they HAVE to have it. One of them has to."

Poo picked up a rock and hurled it at a nearby Starman. "AND IT'S ALL THE STUPID STARMENS' FAULT!!!"

The Starman turned around and shot a cold gaze at Poo and the others, whirring like a machine between mechanical words. "Are you punks *whirr* looking to *bleep!* die? Do not *bloop!* underestimate us!"

Poo stepped back several steps. "Oops…sorry guys!"

Ness, a determined look in his eyes, whipped out his baseball bat as Paula and Jeff readied for battle. "It's alright, Poo. I've been looking for some experience anyway."

Poo glanced around and took his battle stance, preparing for Ness's command to fire off a PSI Freeze attack. He'd just recently learned PSI Freeze Gamma and was waiting to show it off to Ness, although Paula was on the verge of learning PSI Freeze Omega herself. Poo hated to burden Ness with even the smallest things, such as eating his last Cup Of Lifenoodles or not having enough energy to teleport the group, so this was his chance to show Ness he was just as powerful as anyone else in the Chosen Four.

However, Poo's guard dropped as the Starman called for help, immediately aided by a golden Starman that Poo recognized instantly. Without realizing it, he began screaming and flailing his arms.

"S-S-S-S-SUPER STARMAN!!!"

Ness choked back a laugh as Poo grabbed Jeff by the shoulders and began shaking him. "JEFF! You gotta help me defeat the Super Starman! He might have the you-know-what!!!"

Jeff pushed Poo off and began to charge his Heavy Bazooka. "Then again, he might not. You never know-OOF!" Jeff was thrown off his feet by an oncoming bash from the Starman. Poo knelt down next to him.

"Whoa! Are you alright?"

"Ouch…yeah…would you mind using PSI Lifeup on m-ACK!" The Starman bashed into Jeff again and again. Jeff hardly had enough energy to lift his arms by the time the smashes stopped. Poo crouched over Jeff in a shield-like gesture. He turned his head and shouted to Ness.

"NESS! Put up a shield! Jeff's hurt really bad, and I can't defend him forever!" As the two Starmen rushed towards Jeff, hoping to eradicate the two heroes at the same time, Poo shot off his new attack he'd just learned, PSI Starstorm Alpha. It wasn't as strong as it could get to be, but it was a start. Ness had congratulated him, but it never felt like enough. He wanted to serve Ness, and wondered why he had even bothered with telling Ness about the Sword Of Kings to begin with. Ness put up the shield as Poo took a beating from the attacks of the Starmen. Ness began to walk over and help his friend, but something stopped him in his tracks. He rushed the other direction. Paula shouted at him.

"Don't run away! We're in the middle of a fight! You cold-hearted jerk, can't you see Jeff is hurt? Do something!"

Paula caught the last words he said as he ran. "Poo's in charge! He'll protect you and Jeff!"

Glancing at Poo, Paula pitied the boy. He did everything for Ness and was always ashamed to ask anything in return. What had happened to the dignified Prince of Dalaam, who now served a smalltown boy with a baseball bat?

Seeing Poo in pain from the Starmen's ruthless attacks, Paula used her perfected PSI Freeze Gamma. Ness had been thrilled when Paula had learned it, yet when Poo had learned it, it just seemed to be something as small as learning to tie your shoes.

The Freeze brought the Starman Super to his knees, buying Poo some time to heal Jeff.

_Okay…what to do…oh no…Ness left me in charge! There's no one to give orders! What level of Lifeup should I use? Alpha is much too low, and Gamma will take up too much PSI, since Jeff's guts are keeping him alive! And when Ness's shield goes down…oh, what do I do???_

Paula watched Poo as he sat in near tears deciding what to do. It had been so long since he'd had any control over anything, and had fallen completely under Ness's demands. Poo did everything for Ness, from things like defending him in battle to doing his laundry and cooking his meals. Paula glared at the ceiling, thinking. Ness was a backstabber, a jerk to make someone as defined as Poo clean his socks and obey his every demand. They were the Chosen Four, not the Chosen One, His Maid, And Two Accomplices. Poo was a member of the gang too! And now he-

Paula was jerked out of her thoughts as she was knocked off her feet by another Starman. Looking up, she saw that the Starman she had brought to its knees had recovered, and now the three Starmen were ready to deal the final finishing blows on the three. Paula didn't know what to do. Her PSI power was very low, and she couldn't concentrate well. Jeff was teetering on the edge of conciousness, and Poo was just a wreck without Ness to order him around. Paula fell to her knees and began to pray.

"If someone can hear me, get Ness. Bring Ness back here this instant! We need him! We need Poo to fight, and…Poo needs a leader!"

However, once the prayer was finished, the room began to sway before Paula's eyes. She became dizzy and could hardly stand up. Poo felt the same, and in one swift blow to the head, bashed Jeff unconscious. Jeff's eyes closed, and the Heavy Bazooka rolled out of his hand across the floor. When he came to(after a bash from the Starman Super), he looked down, a tear brushing his cheek before sliding onto Jeff's glasses.

"Ness…I…failed you…"

Paula came to about the same time, glad to have taken no damage from the situation, and happy to see that the Starmen were all swaying in place from the lingering feelings of feeling strange. She seized the opportunity and began to bash away at them, suddenly aided by a boy in a red cap at her side. Once the Starmen had been broken into little bits, making soft, dying whirrs, Paula slapped Ness across the face.

"You idiot! Where were you? Jeff is unconscious, and Poo…you cold-hearted demon! Poo is crying because he couldn't meet your ridiculous demands!" She jabbed Ness in the chest with one finger.

Ness's expression softened when he looked at Jeff, lying on the floor, and the refined prince sobbing over him. As Ness's shadow loomed over the boy, Poo drew backwards in fear.

"N-Ness…I'm so sorry! Please forgive-"

Ness knelt down and patted Poo's head. "No. You forgive me. Paula's right. I've been a jerk to you. And not just you, I've become a big jerk since we started this whole journey. I've gone a little power-crazy since I learned to use PSI."

Ness reached into his backpack and pulled out a Horn Of Life, gently placing it on Jeff's chest. It glowed for a moment before dissolving. Jeff blinked and sat up before standing up and stretching. Paula looked at a group of approaching Starmen.

"Hey guys, we've got company."

Poo took his fighting stance. "Get ready, Ness. These guys look strong."

Ness reached into his backpack. "Then you'll have to protect me, won't you?"

Paula glared. "You jerk! Did you learn nothing?"

Poo shook his head. "I'll protect you, Ness. By any means possible, I'll protect you."

Ness smirked. "Well, to protect someone like me, you'll need the finest weapons, won't you?"

Poo shook his head again. "Oh no sir, I can manage. I'll protect Ness with my bare hands."

"Then I guess you'd be even stronger with this little trinket." Ness plopped something long and sharp into Poo's hand, covered and wrapped with a blanket. He closed Poo's hand and rushed into battle along with Paula and Jeff. Poo looked down at his hand.

Unraveling the blanket, Poo's eyes lit up and a smile overtook his face as his eyes rested upon the glorious Sword Of Kings.


End file.
